Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of shower door enclosures and more particularly to a shower door featuring a gravity hinge to provide the door with a self-closing action.
Background of the Invention
Bathroom design has achieved a significant level of importance in the overall appearance of a home. Architects and homeowners today are insisting that every detail of bathroom appearance be precise and decorative in nature. Unfortunately, when it comes to installing shower doors, available shower door binges are generally not in conformance with the otherwise highly decorative theme of the modern residential bathroom. Prior art shower door hinges are typically bulky, exposed mechanical devices that are decidedly not decorative its nature.
Most shower doors presently available are constructed of metal and glass and are of the swinging door type. Such doors usually are affixed to the shower enclosure at the pivoted edge of the door using piano style hinges which often extend the full height of the door. Prior art hinges typically connect the metal frame of the door to the enclosure jamb and are bolted to the jamb in several places as is required to adequately support the weight of the door. In a typical installation, the free edge of the door swings against a vertical metal strike plate which is bolted to the door jamb on that side of the enclosure. The strike plate serve as a positive stop to the door's travel. A spring biased latch is also often used in conjunction with the strike plate to keep the door in the closed position.
Traditional methods of affixing a shower door to an enclosure as described above have proven to be undesirable in modern high-end shower enclosures. Modern high-end shower enclosures typically feature a glass door set into a glass wall. In this style of installation, it is desirable to polish the vertical edges of the glass door and leave the vertical edges unframed to create the appearance of an unbroken glass wall.
Piano style hinges and most other prior art shower door hinges are poorly suited to the glass wall style of shower enclosure because the glass door lacks vertical frame rails and the glass wall lacks a jamb structure. Thus, no suitable structure is present within which to install the hinges on the pivoted edge of the door and the strike plate on the free edge of the door. While it may be possible to install the hinges and strike plate directly to the glass door and associated glass wall structure, any such installation would be unsightly and unacceptable to both architects and consumers.
What is needed therefore, is an alternative to the traditional piano style door hinge specifically designed to work with glass doors installed in glass wall shower enclosures. Any such hinge system should be sufficiently compact so that it may be hidden within relatively low profile bottom and top rails attached to the glass shower door to provide for an unbroken glass wall appearance. Ideally, the hinges would not attach to any part of the vertical surface of the glass door. It would further be desirable that the hinges incorporate a self-closing feature eliminate the need for a strike plate and latch on the free end of the door.